WBA 0 Everton 2 in pictures:

Their Everton legacies will inextricably be linked and if one succeeds then the other will have done so as well.

Martinez has staked his reputation – and the Blues’ “whole budget” – on a nomadic 21-year-old who is yet to settle and who has plenty to prove.

But Martinez is convinced they have signed the man to fire them into the Champions League.

Lukaku has to repay that faith. The level of belief Martinez has shown in him and the trust he has placed at his feet.

For £28m, Lukaku needs to score and score often.

Thirty-two Premier League goals in the last two seasons points to his obvious and vast potential but Martinez will demand even more.

Will another return of 15 league goals cut it this season? Unfortunately not.

And so the day Everton and Lukaku both got off the mark for the season has to act as a watershed.

Martinez needed the Belgian arguably more than ever before and the young forward delivered in the form of a sweetly struck, curling effort from the edge of the area inside two minutes.

At the end of an agonisingly long international break, it gave the manager the chance to relax just a little.

Dogged by a toe injury, the towering Belgian remains only half-fit and lasted less than 70 minutes here but it was an encouraging performance.

Not quite as all-action and dominant as some highlights packages suggest but, at the end of it all, a performance that had a tangible impact.

And that cuts to the core of the debate surrounding the young striker.

Lukaku has some way to go if he wants to fit the mould of the all-conquering frontman who ploughs the fearsome lone furrow and chews up defenders for fun. The type of forward that gives Bayern as well as the Baggies nightmares.

But ultimately he will be judged on his goals return.

Is it enough for him to improve his touch, ability to hold off defenders and passing if he is hitting between 15-17 a season?

Or will it actually matter if Lukaku’s performances remain erratic, if he scores 25 goals this term?

Big money strikers are valued by the currency of goals. Lukaku’s at West Brom felt priceless.